Cities' fight over charter heats up

They say they will challenge the amendments in court if voters approve them.

October 27, 2006|By Ludmilla Lelis, Sentinel Staff Writer

DeLAND -- Cities fighting proposed amendments to Volusia County's charter stepped up the attack Thursday, claiming that four of the ballot questions are illegal and unconstitutional in stripping power and authority from the cities.

They did not file a lawsuit to challenge the questions and said they would challenge the measures if they passed. But amendment backers said the latest move was just an attempt to sway voters.

Thursday's announcement comes in the waning weeks of the election season, as Volusia residents decide whether to approve changes to the county charter aimed at controlling growth and development. More than 5,400 people have already cast ballots in the general election through early voting.

Volusia voters have seven amendments to consider, including one involving water, one involving school districts and two related to the county's power to plan for future development.

The Charter Review Commission aimed several of the amendment questions to address concerns that the county needs to do more to manage growth and protect the core environmental resources.

However, several cities oppose the ballot measures, saying that the proposed changes amount to a "power grab" by the county government. The cities have joined together to form a political-action committee, Cities Against Consolidated Government, and are paying for their own public-relations campaign to persuade voters to reject the measures.

For example, Deltona has spent $65,000 to $70,000 toward the political-action committee and local advertising to urge its residents to vote against the water- and growth-related amendments. One of the ads, to run on the 98.1 FM La Mega Spanish-language radio station, targets Hispanic residents, who make up 24 percent of the city.

On Thursday, attorneys for some of the opposing cities released findings by Bradenton-based attorney H. Hamilton Rice Jr. that some of the amendment questions are illegal and unconstitutional because they would take away the ability of a local city to plan its development.

Two amendments would allow the county to continue controlling what happens on land that is annexed into a city. The other two amendments cited by Rice would make the county the sole authority in the power to control planning as it relates to the school districts and water resources.

Rice's legal review was requested by the city attorneys and not by the political-action committee, though the committee supports the legal findings, said PAC treasurer Pete Atwood.

Rice, in an 18-page letter addressed to Daytona Beach City Attorney Bob Brown, wrote that the Florida Constitution gives the cities the power to make decisions on planning and zoning. The Volusia charter amendments, if passed, would take that power away from the cities and transfer it to the county government, thereby violating the state constitution and related state laws, Rice wrote. Rice is a former attorney for Manatee County and an expert on local-government law.

"It's not going to stop growth from occurring," said Scott Simpson, city attorney for Holly Hill, South Daytona and Oak Hill. "It just changes who makes the decisions.

"There's nothing in here that stops growth or slows growth down. There's a presumption that because you're giving the decision-making power to the county, rather than to the individual cities, that it's somehow going to slow down growth."

Though they have some legal arguments to challenge the ballot questions, Simpson said the cities won't file any legal challenges until after Election Day, Nov. 7.

"We're waiting to see the outcome to see if we need to proceed with litigation," Simpson said.

Holly Hill Mayor Roland Via criticized the charter-review process for not giving cities enough opportunity to offer input into the amendments, which leaves a potential lawsuit as the only option for the cities to maintain their say in how cities grow.

Bill Scovell, who was chairman of the charter-review commission, said the charter amendments are on solid legal ground and didn't put much stock in Rice's legal review.

"It's just his opinion, and he's a hired gun," Scovell said. "We've had a myriad of legal opinions in the amendment process and a myriad of attorneys who participated, including commission members and the county attorney's office.